Mobile Suit Gundam Wing | The Gundam Retrospective

In 1995 Sunrise released Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, which unbeknownst to them, would change the landscape of the western anime market forever. Airing in North America in March of the year 2000, Gundam Wing would take the Toonami audience by storm, securing its prime time slot for the entire 49 episode run. So please join me as we take a look back and see if Gundam Wing is more than just nostalgia.
-- THIS VIDEO CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS FOR GUNDAM WING --
Watch me live: / retcon_404
I say stuff: / retcon_404
Short videos here: / retcon_404
Stream Archive: / @retcon_404plays

[@ttravis10]

The smooth “tear wipe, I’ll kill you” walk by by Heero was so dope lol. But he is the king of empty threats.

[@FingerinUrDaughter]

it was a mistranslation. he really said "ill slay your pussy"

[@Liquidsteel3]

King of fainting out his Gundam. He's at the bottom list of Gundam pilots

[@exudeku]

@@Liquidsteel3 to be fair, his tanktop is iconic

[@Wickedninja7878]

like how did he not get reported for that shit though. like a shit ton of high school girls saw that, aint no way they'd shut the hell up.

[@Liquidsteel3]

@@exudeku true but I'm like dam. If they make a sequel he faint 1 time. I'm done with it

[@officialFredDurstfanclub]

Wing is utterly insane. One of the most chaotic, messy, bizarre, terrible, strange, hilarious, charming, awful, amazing pieces of madness I’ve ever seen. The world would be a darker place without it

[@zarkon9590]

This times 1000000

[@Villani_AV]

Absolutely love this show lol

[@greyfox78569]

It was a product of the rerun era of TV you had to alive back then to get it. That is why it looked really good back then, and today seems odd, messy, and chaotic. Back then binging a show especially a 50 episode one was impossible.

[@jackrussell3084]

@@greyfox78569 yep nailed it. Show was not made to binge but follow casually between going to school and sports training.

[@ohthreefiftyone]

@@greyfox78569 Well, it’s not just binging that makes it seem bizarre, it’s the fuck-awful dialogue. I’m not sure if it’s a translation issue or if it’s also bad in Japanese, but the pseudo-philosophical dissertations on the nature of war and pacifism and the human experience of being a soldier are fucking word salad half the time and simple bullshit the other half.

[@richmcgee434]

Man, all these years and the Toonami clip is still instantly recognizable.

[@westonmeyer3110]

That one and the 0079 one.

[@KamikazeSP06]

And hits hard!!

[@yeaboy707]

Every Toonami trailer was epic. I really liked the Tenchi Muyo trailer, even though I didn’t like the show itself that much.

[@KamikazeSP06]

@@yeaboy707 LOVED the tenchi franchise! But I know plenty of ppl who didnt

[@_gungrave_6802]

@@yeaboy707 Well Tenchi Muyo was just a harem series and harem series are generally shit. Mind you i myself am a guy who prefers an anime to have an actual story, good writing, characters and not having the entire plot be a fucking harem.

[@BigHeadClan]

Hero ripping up Relina birthday invitation will never not make me laugh while at the same time being pure campy awesomeness. Could watch it back to back on repeat.

[@Avalon64]

fun fact...Heero failed to kill EVERY person he ever said I'll kill you to...makes you wonder why he ever bothered

[@dynasty0019]

It goes back to what Doctor J said. Deep down Heero is a sweet boy, something Relena was able to go see through the cold facade he put up. It’s a story millions of young men have to put up with dealing with the reality of war. Heero, like any service member, doesn’t want to kill, but their jobs require them to.

[@Avalon64]

@@dynasty0019 you don't need to explain it to me, as a fan whose watch the show a few times now I knows this fact, it's just funny a declared threat of killing and he's never once carried it out, kinda like the dual buster rifle beam spin move that's ALWAYS associated with Wing Zero and Heero does it in video games...but Heero NEVER did the move himself while piloting Wing Zero....everyone else whose used Wing Zero in fact did...

[@vopop30]

It's a really funny juxtaposition: Duo pilots one of the edgiest-designed Gundams in the franchise, but he's the pilot with the least amount of angst or baggage out of the 5. He remarks how crazy everyone else is, especially Heero, but he's the guy who fights almost exclusively with a laser scythe. He does have that one scene where the original Deathscythe is destroyed and he screams like his dog got shot in front of him. That's about the only time he ever gets particularly emotional.

[@andrejg4136]

Duo has the attitude that even if his life is shitty, he does not have the license to drag down other people with it. He's gonna work and make it less shitty for himself and his 'family', even if that is only marginally.

[@H3Vtux]

He got pretty pissed when the mercurius and veyette almost killed his girlfriend. But yeah he is the most grounded of all the pilots ironically. He was always my favorite and I thought him and quatres bromance was cool.

[@NitroNEXT]

While Duo might be the most relatable to your average joe, I personally found characters like Heero and Trowa to have more realistic personalities for the context they were in. Someone who's gone through trauma and war would not be in the mood to smile and joke around all the time, though I realize having only characters like that would make for a dull series. Similar to Evangelion, you need characters to contrast eachother.

[@mosquitopyjamas9048]

@@NitroNEXTlaughing is a form of coping for trauma, everyone deals with it differently.

[@healgoth]

According to a few sources the VA Scott McNeil thought of his wife running into/knockoff over his motorcycle in order to make that scream

[@WorldsGreatestRingAnnouncer]

Just to put things in a bigger perspective: Toonami at this time was having DBZ, Sailor Moon,& Evangelion as well in their first run on English TV. For its first two weeks, Wing outdid all of the shows on cartoon with cartoon’s network highest rating that year. Starting week three, only DBZ drew more fans. That’s how popular wing was.

[@KamikazeSP06]

Oh those were the days. I couldnt wait to get home to see it.

[@cbh148]

They showed Evangelion around the time of Gundam Wing?? Hell I didn’t know they showed Eva at all, but they sure were not showing it around the time Wing dropped on CN.

[@timothymoore2966]

Wing was goated

[@BioGoji-zm5ph]

@@baronvonslambert Adult Swim would often run the unedited versions of certain anime shown on Toonami back in those days, when network censors were more strict about things. If you saw Wing or Eva on Adult Swim, you were probably watching the uncut version instead of the censored version aired during daytime hours on Toonami.

[@ChiePet_]

and then sailor moon and eva were dropped for 2 of my all time favorite anime; Yu Yu Hakusho and Tenchi Muyo

[@Dracobyte]

As a Mexican Gundam fan, this show has a very special place in my heart. Not only it was my first Gundam show, it is still today the only one with a Latin American Spanish dub.

[@samuelgarcia-fo4yn]

Ahora tenemos The Witch from Mercury tambien!!!!

[@Dracobyte]

@@dwayneelizondomountaindewh6073 nobody, but an official dub is always welcome in Latin America!

[@Dracobyte]

@@samuelgarcia-fo4yn ¡así es, el doblaje llega el 2 de mayo!

[@johnnybanks61]

It's awesome Gundam has made it to some many different cultural backgrounds

[@funkmastaC]

Peter optimus prime cullen introduced Gundam to the youths of the new millennium. It was a wild ride in many respects. Toonami really knew what they were doing when they started here. The show is a great litmus test to see if you will like the Gundam series as a whole.

[@Studio_OZKai]

The thing about Une's personality splice is due to Treize's critique of her methods during the Siberia assault, and I think was explained so briefly that it can easily be glossed over. Essentially, Treize telling her to "act more gracefully" seemed to put her at odds with her otherwise cruel tactical means, and the only way she could cope with this dichotomy in ideology was, essentially, a schizophrenic episode. Obviously she was able to reconcile this by the end of the series, but I can understand the confusion if you miss that one key reference.

[@barrybend7189]

She does have a moment of badassery in the Glory of Losers manga by using her softer personality to disarm some of white claw and while still in that personality gunning them down relentlessly.

[@jaredandrew9906]

I rewatch this series all the way through about once a year. Im in my 30s gonna be re-watching with my 9yo son starting TODAY!

[@Retcon404]

That's awesome I hope you both enjoy it!

[@theredcomet4301]

zechs/milliardo is the best template of the “char clone” but is SOOOO much more awesome than all the others (char excluded of course)

[@JoseSantos-ys3rj]

Full Frontal is pretty good, imo. The way he comes clear with his feelings in the last moments are *chef´s kiss* and though i don´t like Seed, Rau´s malice makes him really good don´t you think zechs is too...idk, over-flashy?

[@LuisRosa72]

@@JoseSantos-ys3rj Well, to be fair, pretty much everything about Wing is over-flashy. But that's part of its charm.

[@theredcomet4301]

@@JoseSantos-ys3rj i dont know, the lightning count, the hair, when the mask cracks and zechs is unleashed, epyion, being like an elegant night, coming from a pacifist upbringing and man, look at the dude. my personal fav, but i do agree, frontal was pretty bad ass (not a fan of the name full frontal tho)

[@DIEGhostfish]

KZbin took down my favorite Gundam Wing video. A compilation of every time the show said "Zechs is coming."

[@KamikazeSP06]

Absolutely my favorite Char clone for sure. Even more than the actual clone!

[@infinition]

Wing is what turned me into a Gundam fanboy. The story and most characters are dull, but the theme songs and mecha are amazing. I'm constantly humming the songs, and as soon as my kids grow up, and I get a little extra free time, I've got Master Grade Endless Waltz Version kits of Tallgeese and Epyon to build. Team Zechs.

[@jeepowner2675]

bro me too. tallgeese is my favorite mobile suit

[@SOULSONICFORCE619]

I have wing zero

[@lampad4549]

How is the story dull?

[@keithknows1809]

Epyon? Deathscythe Hell's baddass to practicality ratio is equalled by no other. (Though I _do_ also have an Epyon, amongst many others)

[@infinition]

@@keithknows1809 my wife actually just bought me the Deathscythe Hell EW Master Grade for my birthday

[@ELcoyote576]

The nostalgia Is real with this one. Team Wing Zero.

[@Retcon404]

Wing Zero is undeniably cool

[@jessenichols9618]

Yea buddy I remember watching the og, g and wing when I was younger an wing was definitely my favorite but to be fair it was my 1st exposure to the series

[@SpiceofLifevariety]

Wing Zero Custom, baby! With the Angel Wings and dual buster cannon.

[@Scantronacon]

Thank you Toonami for this❤️ and for this video! Like I had no idea what I was watching and my man Hiro ripped up the invite wiped her tears and said "I'll kill you!" and walked off like a g. I was all in after that! and I love the Endless Waltz Wing Zero✌🏿💯

[@paxhumana2015]

@@Retcon404 , Lady Une is not bipolar, and, to be honest, she is kind of like that one female cop in the Police Academy series that spoke plainly, Sgt. Laverne Hooks, if I do recall correctly, then, when people did not respect her attempt at kindness, she busts out this commanding yelling voice and people immediately shut their pie holes. Lady Une is like that to an extent, except that her attitude switch happens when something bad happens, thus requiring her to have that military b i t c h/female drill sergeant voice. Lady Une is also, to an extent, kind of like Ami Mizuno in the Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon series, i.e., she is a skilled and smart person that prefers peace to conflict, and that also tries to avoid situations which can trigger her anger in a way that is not entirely unlike The Incredible Hulk, well, minus the super powers, anyway, but once that anger arises, that typical slow burn kind of anger that builds up over time, then, watch out, because you are pretty much going to die now.

[@waderoberts3701]

Wing has all the aesthetics going for it, but the story is all over the place.

[@ortegascz343]

Exactly I love IT for Its animation And characters. I totally loved Zechs until they made him into second main villain

[@larrycupitt3957]

@@ortegascz343 Zechs isn't a villain while he's with the White Fang

[@jaimeruiz7837]

Just remake gundam being and fix the story.

[@loboplateadostacker]

I rewatched during lockdown. The Plot is too thick to grasp as a kid, as an adult I enjoyed every bit geopolitics (astrogeopolitics?) and pontification about peace and war xd.

[@KallusGarnet]

@@loboplateadostackerit's not that the plot is thick and children can't understand it. But the plot isn't well written and is clunky.

[@ReclaimerX22]

I like how between Wing & EW, Zechs basically goes through Char's character arc, but instead of 0079 > Zeta > CCA, for Zechs it's more like 0079 > CCA > Zeta, which is a slightly more sensible progression imo. I also really love most of Treize's philosophy and ideals on humanity, war, and honor. His ideas are easily the best in the show, and by the end he almost comes across as the most effective protagonist, as his sacrifice ultimately ends up being the catalyst for peace. The whole time the other protagonists are whining about disarmament, Treize is getting shit done, and using military might and war to essentially teach everyone in the colonies and on earth why war should be avoided. I love Wing, despite it's very obvious flaws. Is that nostalgia talking? Probably. But even rewatching it again as an adult, there's still plenty to love and appreciate about it, imo. This was a totally fair review, and I'm definitely looking forward to the EW video. Endless Waltz is one of my favorite Christmas movies, right below Die Hard 😂

[@Retcon404]

I'm looking forward to EW for sure, I already know the animation looks amazing and people have said it's just a better story in the Wing universe, so I am excited to explore that one for sure. Also yeah, Treize pretty much becomes the best protagonist, but I don't know if it was intentional or not lol.

[@PLee-vu6mp]

Treize is probably the most consistent character in Wing Zech's chara arc - story of gleeful hope of 90's Japan, probably. Char's chara arc - story of vengeance, finding hope, losing hope and damning all to hell and finally very very short redemption.

[@AgentActive]

Interesting how no one in the comments or the video talk about the music or sound effects of the show. The music sets the tone and theme. Guitar mixed in the synths are legendary. A lot of the sound effects are instantly recognizable

[@deadfacekingsman]

People say it's story was all over the place but I say, it's the most accurate representation of how war really is. It was a space opera and I absolutely loved it. It was hard to follow as a child but as an adult, I understand.

[@MarinM87]

I think most of us knew about Wing in the right place but wrong age. When you watch it, even after a few years it's crystal clear how sociopolitics work during war, and how that war despise the soldiers, and warriors. The noble and aristocrat aproach might be weird, but history knows it all.

[@vonshroom2068]

It is the closest the Gundam series got to immitating Legends of intergelactic Heroes just without the 30 episodes of religious mumbo jumbo after the major conflict already ended.

[@kevinnorwood8782]

I will NEVER have a negative opinion of Gundam Wing. It was the first Gundam series I ever heard of and/or watched, so it was literally my introduction to the entire Gundam universe. And honestly, I could never have asked for a BETTER introduction to this amazing franchise.

[@Retcon404]

That's awesome, for me it was G Gundam!

[@lfskyden]

@@Retcon404 Major Problems you had with Wing, are caused pretty much by Two Things, the Dub Wasnt the best in translating things, and the Fact that Wing pretty much drank too much from 0078, some characters tend to be exagerated(Relena Pacifism, and Dorothy War Driven Brain), and Two Things I agree 300%, Wufei is an Asshole, and Duo is quite a good Character, one Character that you didnt Mention, is Lucrezia Noin, an almost generic Soldier, that somehow manages to keep up with the Local Char-Clone, in a even more Generic Mobile Suit.

[@BioGoji-zm5ph]

@@lfskyden Depends on the dub. Censored dub broadcast during daylight hours on Toonami, or the uncut dub that was featured on Adult Swim?

[@killerb255]

@@BioGoji-zm5ph Uncut dub was also on Toonami Midnight Run (which predates Adult Swim).

[@kyrudo]

Wing crawled so 00 could run. I think Gundam 00 took a lot of hard lessons learned from Wing and managed to deliver a more coherant story than Wing. Wing was probably a bit too ambitious for some things, but I think much of us Toonami kids were able to forgive them, but because the show was still just entertaining to watch.

[@joaquinescotoaleman4320]

To be fair, back then Japanese were kinda tired of Gundam, after 15 intense years of AC sequels, and many asking why there were more Gundams after Char's Counterattack. GW's production had a lot of problem and changes throughout the series, and that affected the show, jus like happened with Digimon 02, they had good, awesome ideas, that in the end they couldn't follow.

[@iasiahharrison9185]

00 is definitely the successer to wing

[@kyrudo]

@@iasiahharrison9185 Yeah, they handle the whole terrorist and striking fear to achieve a goal and honestly a ton of themes Wing tried to juggle 00 did way better. I love Wing to bits. Ive watched it entirely multiple times, but 00 is just objectively better.

[@FrozenDarkVoid]

Big agree! Can’t wait for season 3 hope it doesn’t get too far fetched.

[@KamikazeSP06]

Right. I'll never not love Wing although I get why some cant get into it. It was the first eye opener.

[@wingzero-0014]

"Toonami is proud to present one of the greatest anime sagas of all time(Gundam franchise)Gundam Wing" Firstly Peter Cullen is an absolute legend Wing is what put the franchise on the map for western civilization for most(some GGUNDAM or Seed, 0079 respectively being the original overall) may not be the best objectively but it's upper middle tier and will love it to bits Couple of side notes: according to wiki Heero Yuy's real name is revealed as Odin Lowe Jr., Zech's Marquise is best Char clone and Ms. Lucretsia Noin is the best Wing girl most underrated girl of the franchise Also forgot to mention check out the manga for Gundam Wing Glory of the Losers story's better so is the characters

[@piyerus1153]

I can appreciate the sort of vibe that Wing was going for, looking back on it. It was less of a strict Team A versus Team B story, and was instead a much messier sort of thing. The Gundam pilots were always off doing their own thing, where they'd sometimes team up for a big mission but you also wouldn't be that surprised to find them working against each other. Sometimes someone would disappear for a while and then when they come back, turns out they were doing something in the background that could have been the main plot of a season for any other series in itself. But that the same time... it didn't do things perfectly. The constantly shifting alliances and everyone having their own things to do made things feel a bit disjointed. I remember a few times watching this as a kid, wishing the pilots would just team up for good already. You guys just completed a mission, you know how effective you are together and you all have the same overall mission! Why does one of you have to say something moody and leave by himself!

[@MegaRayland]

The Gundam pilots aimlessly doing things in the middle of the story was the point of the story. They were raised and trained as soldiers with very specific purposes. When those purposes disappear, as the colonies turn on them, they are left alone and trying to figure out what more there is besides their mission. Heero and company don’t have a background explored because there is nothing to explore- they are empty vessels created and trained for the mission only, and it is that realization that causes so much conflict in them during the middle part of the story, in particular with Heero. The theme of soldiers figuring out what and who they are beyond killing machines was a recurring theme. The fascinating aspect of Wing is that all the main characters to the story existed in a grey area, which was a huge contrast to action cartoons at the time where there was always a clear line between the good guys and the bad guys. Yes, a few characters in Wing are plain evil but these were short lived and used to move a plot twist forward. But for the main characters they were all in that middle point: the Gundam pilots, out of immaturity (they were teens after all) made questionable things out of a misguided sense of duty but acted heroically the more they figured out who they were beyond warriors, Sax made terrible things but always with a sense of morality weighting on him, and Trace as the villain was constantly making reasonable points explaining the reasoning behind his scheming. And like that many other characters. Wing wasn’t perfect, with some pacing and translation issues being the worst offenders, but presented a complex world in a complex way. It trusted the audience’s intelligence filling the blanks.

[@Peecamarke]

Wow, perfectly summed up my thoughts

[@dbensdrawinvids8390]

You ain't kidding about the first arc being really busy. Back in the Toonami days I missed one episode, felt like I missed 5.

[@theIconstable]

Having not watched it in its entirety until you were an adult, your perspective makes sense. I watched it right in the sweet spot - 9th grade - which made your references to it seeming profound to that age group resonate. Wing is a show I don't really like anymore. I loved it for about two years before UC completely replaced it for me, even thinking as an older teenager a mere couple years later that it didn't hold up. Now I kind of feel like it was such a wasted opportunity as there were a lot of ideas - some even being very prescient - that the series wanted to address but couldn't somehow. Consider its explorations of drone warfare, sympathetic terrorism, an "end of history" like global order still rife with isolated proxy-conflicts and a civilian class oppressed by a faux-aristocracy trying to reassert historical power dynamics thought to be abandoned in the dustbin of history. Hell, I don't care for Relena, but her naive idea of pacifism is inspiring to me as a just goal. It plays into a recurring theme in Gundam of the idealism of children pushing against the jaded cynicism or outright malice of adults - consider her as a foil for Trieze who has similar goals but wants to bring them about through immense devastation and trauma. That said, those pacifistic themes are addressed better in shows like Turn A Gundam or even western sci-fi like Star Trek. I kind of feel like its world and characters deserved better, because they show a lot of promise mired in thin characterization and extremely inconsistent and scattershot plotting.

[@jakeh8780]

Gundam 00 did it far better than Wing did but I still love wing especially since they’re revisiting the universe with Frozen Teardrop

[@warangelcpgamebreak]

I watched this in 10th grade. It's probably one of my favorite anime to this day. Though, I never rewatched it and never thought about it. I only liked Heero because he's exactly what a teenager soldier should be like. He doesn't ask anything because he's not mature enough to question stuff. That's why the military recruits 18 year olds for war in military. Gundam Wing is kind of like FF8 with voice acing. The last Gundam series I watched for nostalgia was Iron Blood Orphans which kind of has a Gundam Wing trope in the main characters being similar to Heero and Relina, but with better character development.

[@ShmooZeroOmega]

I think you hit the nail square on the head, here. Wing is loaded with interesting ideas that are just never properly realized. "High quality ingredients, but half baked" is probably how I'd describe it. Oh, and "has enough pretty frosting (cool mecha designs) to make you want to eat it anyway."

[@drichards4426]

Exactly. I would even go as far to say that the concepts in the show were wasted on so many of us at such a young age. Rewatching it as an adult will completely change you viewed it as a kid.

[@trishahernz7809]

I just didn’t like that no one challenged Relena’s pacifism enough and just claps every time she talks. To be fair, she is not as bad as Lacus, as she goes around carrying secret gundams to enforce her peace like a giant gun.

[@belldrop7365]

The only thing I keep remembering about wing is how they design and animate the boosters/thrusters on grunts and specially on the tallgeese. They still have that shape like the thrusters used by old space shuttles.

[@sethstewart9704]

Gundam Wing was my intro to Gundam. It was a blast rewatching it with my wife just recently. The action figures from Walmart and Target were incredible. Nowadays I'm working on buying, building and painting all the variants of the Wing Gundam/Wing Zero model kits.

[@blunderrated]

I am practically begging for Wing to get a remake. I hope Mr. Beast will see this one day and make it happen

[@Maioly]

5:50 as an SRW and SD gundam player, hearing the worlds "I like the Leo" feels like stepping into the twilight zone.

[@Retcon404]

I did not know this was a weird opinion hahah

[@Maioly]

@@Retcon404 yeah, Leos (and other wing mook units in particular) in those games tend to have shitty stats And noin always gets shoved into one if she is playable.

[@andrewsallee]

@@Maioly play srw f or f final, the wing Gundams are beasts. Though noin is still in a crappy aries in f.

[@westonmeyer3110]

I like the Taurus.

[@andrejg4136]

@@westonmeyer3110 The Taurus doesn't have a lot of punch until you upgrade it (and then it's just relative to what you are fighting). But as a support mech anything that flies and has low maintenance overhead I am all for. Same reason why Fa always is highly levelled in my playthroughs. The Methuss is one of my ideal mid-rage repair and support mechs for how that game is designed generally. (I prefer my resuppliers to be heavily armored like Guard Diver in V and X)

[@BensonInABox]

Here in America, Wing was the introduction to Gundam for so many.

[@terencefitzgerald1693]

Relena makes a lot more sense when you realize everyone in 1995 was obsessed with Princess Diana.

[@ThunderGonz10]

As someone who has Gundam Wing as the bedrock for his love of Gundam, anime & manga, science fiction, real science, and space all I can say is… it’s cool man; no offense taken. You made a lot of fair points and some items that I’ve been thinking about upon my I’ve-lost-track rewatch. Just keep being honest and keep on the good work.

[@suparufflZ64]

I just bought a wingzero gunpla from flea market and was suprised to see manga at the bookstore. Came home saw this was just uploaded, gotta say im happy Gundam wing is making a small come back. Its a show with some flaws but for at lot of people in America this was our first introduction to anime and its a show and deserves a ton of admiration for what it did in the states. Awesome video!

[@Deavios]

If I remember correctly, Wing had a writer change about halfway through it's production run, which is why certain ideas start and then stop super abruptly (Heero being a genetically engineered super soldier thing, Quatra being a psudo-newtype, etc). It doesn't quite excuse some of it's more off the wall creative decisions, but it's certainly an explanation. That said, it's still my favorite series Gundam series bar none.

[@diamonshade7484]

Does the Manga fix anything

[@chazbertino6102]

Wasn't it Wufei who was supposed to be the newtype?

[@H3Vtux]

That is fascinating to hear because I always felt like the overall tone changed abruptly around the time wing 0 is introduced.

[@whitewing2]

Well what makes Wing a Fan Favorite is the Theme and Atmosphere, during the time it was aired… we havent seen anything like it like Teen boys protagonist (Relating to its target Audience), Over Kill is Awesome, the Idea that everyone fears a Gundam on sight, and Death… yeah the Cartoons I remember that has that are either ExoSquad, and Macross (Both are mechs shows BTW) Storywise Yeah even I got confused a lot of time but most of the target audience doesnt care about it, Some just enjoys when a Gundam Blows a number of MS up

[@Retcon404]

That's pretty fair, I think the visuals of the show were definitely a formula for success. I didn't really watch it as a kid, but the one thing I do remember is seeing the commercials and thinking that it looked SO COOL. There were really no other cartoons that looked like it and were readily available to me as a kid. Definitely a perfect storm for the year we got it over here.

[@WatcherMovie008]

The split personality bit with Lady Une was because Treize wanted Lady Une to become a more respectful woman and not a mere assassin who only listens to orders that he says. Treize mentions many times in the series that he sees Lady Une as a flower that shouldn't be stained in blood and therefore making Lady Une representative of OZ for the Colonies. By forcing her to play the style of an innocent diplomat who only seeks peace, it plays in conflict with the violent nature of her character as a loyal officer of OZ, but considering Lady Une follows Treize like a cult, his words are absolute to her so she is in constant character conflict between staying as a true officer of OZ or becoming the ideal woman in Treize's eyes.

[@MysticBGaming]

I recently tried to rewatch Wing for the first time in 20 years. Its no wonder I don't remember much of it. I remember the Gundam designs but that's about it.

[@H3Vtux]

I rewatched it l ike 6 years ago for the first time since I was 8 years old. Was interesting to see what the actual story was, as a kid in the 90s I had no clue what was going on or what anybody was talking about, just loved the fights and character.

[@NichtcrawlerX]

I must admit, part of my enjoyment of Wing comes from numerous rewatches and slowly understanding the layers of characters. (Treize is still my favourite Gundam antagonist)

[@atomicave3100]

I dont get why everyone blows that scene out of proportion where Hero tells Relena that he'll kill her... He's literally like a secret agent that is telling her that if she gets close hed have to kill her or that shed get killed by being associated with him. No one seems to be able to grasp that lol

[@Retcon404]

I get it, it's just that it is so dramatic. the way all her friends clap, the way Heero wipes her tear away dramatically (which imo is kind of out of character for him) it all is just so silly, which makes it very memorable.

[@jqdash]

Wing was my entry to Gundam, back when it aired on Toonami. I recently re-watched and thought, "ah the mechs were cool". Followed up with Gundam 00. I feel that 00 is the spiritual successor of Wing.

[@ORLY911]

I still think Wing shines in particular areas with a close eye, there's some neat themes especially about the role of artificial intelligence in warfare, and what it means to be a soldier. It certainly is rough, but I do still think it's a gem, the aesthetic of the mecha and factions certainly help give it a personality no other Gundam show has. as much as I love it though I know it is quite flawed, it had a hectic production schedule and like 0083 switched directors mid show (except i'd argue for the better, second half is better paced). The Glory of Losers manga essentially fixes the issues with the show and as you said gives you better character backgrounds. Art is also fantastic in them and gives the Gundams really cool equipment loadouts they didn't have in the show.

[@FangerZero]

I'll have to find this Glory of losers manga. Thanks!

[@DIEGhostfish]

GoL's an interesting retelling but I find some of the designs worse. On the one hand Sandrock gets something of a gimmick but I like the EW/GoL head and chest/shoulders area less. I kinda wish they'd just slapped Guncannon/Mudrock/Madrock style shoulder cannons on it and called it a day.

[@ORLY911]

@@DIEGhostfish Completely understandable, they're different takes meant to mainly make them feel more like predecessors of the Endless Waltz designs (as it was a pretty radical design change fom Okawara to Katoki). I too prefer the TV/Okawara versions in most instances, but don't think the GoL ones are bad, some prefer them. Very much of a are you a more traditional okawara guy or a katoki guy

[@DIEGhostfish]

@@ORLY911 it varies from suit to suit, really it's just the head and collarbone area of the sandrock I really dislike. The Heavyarms I see as an improvement, and the others I like or am neutral on.

[@infernoconan1]

The script didnt change tho.. They changed the director mid-way through the series, not the main writer. A director doesnt decide about the story if there are screenwriters. However a jumbled schedule due to director leaving them, forced them to drop two episodes with pilots backgrounds, and instead put two recap episodes.

[@Maioly]

Fun fact, there is a side story manga about an asteroid colony that has created its own gundam, 3 (at first) insane oz officers showing up to foul stuff up, their designs being straight out of G gundam (I believe it might have shared an artist) to the point where you can confuse some of them for some of the central cast of G gundam. It ALSO has its own char clone, making it so that the universe of wing has two different char clones. It got an adaptation into SD gundam cross rays, crossing over with wing proper in a mission of its expansion.

[@CodyWBryan]

This was my first introduction into Gundam and all things mech. It will always hold a special place in my heart.

[@williambrown6185]

I’m not even sure me and you watched the same show. I was 25 when it first aired. My favorite parts is the philosophical struggle of being a pacifist and the realities of war. And fighting for the right cause: of course total pacifism is ridiculous. I think it’s suppose to. The point I think is that she sticks to her ideas of peace. Heero is the sounding board for all this. He thinks it’s ridiculous too but knows that there has to be someone that sticks to their values and advocates for peace above all else. Turns out that Trieze felt the same way. Start a war so terrible that people would be forced to confront the necessity of war. But it also turns out that Heero tells us that peace is something g worth fighting for. That people have to be willing to stand up for what’s right. I never thought there was a weak moment in the show. And it really speaks to the real world today.

[@Retcon404]

I'm glad you enjoyed it! There's definitely stuff to like, the storytelling just didn't click with me. I do enjoy the themes though.

[@williambrown6185]

@@Retcon404 other than Wing Zero, Tallgeese is my favorite Gundam design. It just looks so baddass.

[@androyus]

@@williambrown6185 These intellectual scholars have a sound argument in a long podcast of why Wing TV is just all over the place: kzbin.info/www/bejne/norRepaJf9SnhKc

[@gamers2999]

To sum up my thoughts on wing, my favorite quote Zecks Merquise "Isn't it all POINTLESS!"

[@BottleDeopt]

Having gotten used to children's robot shows such as Gaogaigar (was living in a country that aired the show at the time) plus transformers where even a kid would expect to see what kind of characters they'd see in the first episode and who the heroes and villains would be, Gundam Wing flipped the whole good guys vs bad guys dynamic and the mechs script completely. It almost seemed like good guys and the bad guys were actual people instead of being cardboard cutouts Because this show taught kids watching on YTV in 2000 that the antagonists are people and can have hidden depths too.

[@cylesmith8291]

Japanese Power Fantasy about WWII as a Space Opera featuring giant robots. Got it, Professor! Will submit my essay minutes before the deadline!

[@PLee-vu6mp]

this was the threshold to the rabbit hole the cliffedge off the abyss the gateway drug for me into the world that is Gundam.

[@Ultimateprototype13]

Not gonna lie I dig Wufei, especially his bond with his mobile suit Nataku. Which is named after his dead wife. It’s really a shame that they’re never able to go into that aspect of his backstory, because I feel like that explains a bit of his standoffish behavior. Relating to his views on strength and justice.

[@feifeicuttie]

Had to search for even one Wufei fan.

[@Ultimateprototype13]

@@feifeicuttie Some of us are around lol. I think I'm also empathetic to him, as someone who has had his moments of being stubborn and prideful. I'm pumped that we're finally getting his HG, I'm gonna paint the shit out of that lol.

[@ianm1462]

Wufei has been the name of all my RPG characters since I was like 12 lol. Kanto League champ, wielder of the Triforce… Wufei at your service

[@Ultimateprototype13]

@@ianm1462 Hell yeah, ya love to hear it haha

[@billythenarwhal1579]

I didn't know Wufei was hated until this video.

[@Msoulwing]

I've never finished Wing. I initially watched it up to the point where Relena *berates the person who just saved her from being shot* and decided that this train wreck of a character just wasn't worth it. I later (much later) decided to give it another shot, but never got all the way up to the time skip. It's interesting to hear someone who has finished the series echo my sentiments. The designs and fights are generally good, but the show is full of "and then" writing down to the decisions of the characters themselves.

[@achillesholmes3622]

Through it all it’s still my favorite Gundam series

[@AffordableWahoo]

Pete Cullen makes anything he voices so epic

[@themark443]

Ah this show...of all the shows Toonami had on, this was the one that got me hooked (DBZ and Tenchi Muyo were tied for second). The art, the story, all of it was totally fascinating and awesome. Endless Waltz was a great addition as well. A couple years ago, I got the full series on blu-ray and rewatched several times. In retrospect, I can see what they were trying to do with the narrative but I feel like there was a significant language barrier 25 years ago than there is today. I think the localization was a bit too literal in some aspects as dialog tended to sound a bit roundabout and bloated. I can see a lot of the themes from Wing in 00; the constant changes in villain groups, political intrigue, etc. I'll always have a soft spot for Gundam Wing and find myself going back and watching it.

[@brandonlavender7268]

I just finished this series last night. I enjoyed it a lot. 7/10 for me.

[@lordadorable1140]

The Zero System is best described as an artificial means of becoming a Newtype with an emphasis on a great increase to the pilot’s survival instincts. It also has the added bonus of being able to predict the future. That and the OG operation Meteor was a move more commonly seen in other Gundam franchises. A Colony drop. The Gundams were made for the mop up

[@straker454]

I learned about Gundam around the time Gundam Wing was starting to show up in the US from a weird guy named Adam at a Hollywood Video at the local mall. He was a Universal Century kinda guy and didn't care for Wing, but he showed me a Perfect Grade RX-78 Gundam he built and from there I was hooked. I then found a magazine that had listed web sites I could visit where I learned about various other shows like G Fighter and the UC timeline stuff as well as the newer show, Turn A Gundam. When Toonami was showing Wing, I didn't get to see it as I didn't have Cartoon Network, but when I moved to another state, I got a satellite TV setup and that was when the original Gundam was showing. It was antiquated in many respects but with that came the 8th MS Team, War in the Pocket and 0083 Stardust Memory. I was hooked. G Fighter and eventually Wing were series I really learned to love, but it was Wing that I bought the first Gundam from. See, in that time the MSIA toy line was imported to some stores and I had seen...rather marked up RX-78's, GMs and the like, but when Bandai released MSIA versions of the Wing mobile suits, well, I just HAD to buy that one called Deathscythe. I mean...who WOULDN'T? It's been a steady binge to watch every Gundam series that I thought I would like...aside from SD and Build Fighters for example. The UC time;line is my favorite but Turn A is my absolute favorite by far. I have a lot to thnak that crazy guy at Hollywood Video for. Thanks Crazy Adam, lol.

[@bullettime001]

It's crazy the voice of Optimus prime doing Gundam intro crazy

[@Retcon404]

I will always remember "In the distant future... mankind has reached the stars..." even if I don't love the show, that still gives me goosebumps.

[@gfh110]

_But really the best thing about this show is the _*_GODDAMN_*_ _*_TALLGEESE_* This is the correct opinion and it has earned you a sub. 😆

[@greycat111]

I was blown away by the dub recently in a rewatch. “What a nice flap that bird has.” By Wufei almost brought a tear to my eye

[@cwopre]

The first 10 episodes of Wing are still peak gundam… I’ll die on that hill.

[@Viper1Zero]

This end card went way harder than I thought it would lmao. Hey man, congrats on so much success on your channel in such a short span of time. You clearly have a talent for these types of videos, and you keep the viewer engaged the whole time. Always great to see other creators succeed doing something they love. Keep it up, my friend.

[@thebaccathatchews]

"But really the best thing about this show is the g-d damn Tallgeese. Look at this thing. Pure perfection." You damn right it is.

[@papaPR1ME]

Love the over-dramatic nature of everything. The music just put it over the top!

[@MisaelCastilloBrenes]

"I am Optimus Prime, and this is Gundam Wing"

[@brandonstone1913]

I'm a big fan of this show for nostalgia's sake and for the epic mech designs. Totally agree with the critiques on lack of character depth and the fact that things just sort of happen instead of there being a good flow to the story.

[@leo11lim]

Heeero and trowa were flat and Releana Dorothy and WufA-hole were cancer

[@Jason530808]

I always loved this show. After years of watching Robotech this came out.

[@tcgdarren5865]

King Peacecraft: *gets assasinated because he didnt want to fight* Relena: Let's do that again 😂

[@neogen20]

During this whole video I kept thinking and waiting for a comment about The endless waltz. Then at the end you delivered. Will be watching that one.

[@StayFrostyX279]

Gotta love this video and this series despite all the faults. Honestly the faults is why I start loving it more.

[@Ledluver]

Yep I remember being introduced to gundam through the action figure commercial for the wing wave on Kids WB and it formed a permanent synapse 👳👍 Also an ol'school AMV of EW with Ramstein's firefly.

[@protoplasm25]

You totally nailed this retrospective! I recently did a watch through which got rough the last half and you confirmed all my complaints. Will be watching more of your content

[@RoyleVegeta]

WING is my all time favourite, it was the 1st Gundam series I saw, when Toonami aired it, along with, DBZ, escaflowne, cowboy bebop, outlaw Star and monster rancher it made my child hood.

[@nedmaster1000]

Gundam Wing is a mixed bag for me. on the one hand it is what got into gundam when I was way to young when it first aired on toonami. As I decided to dive hard into the franchise for real 8-9 years later wing as fallen from being a great gundam show to being just mediocre and ok

[@westonmeyer3110]

The only thing that has aged really well is the mech designs and the theme songs. G Gundam on the other hand has aged REALLY well.

[@NebLleb]

New Mobile Report Wing is a show where you can tell they were just out to follow up G Gundam with a good show that combined G's super-robots with the more traditional Gundam storytelling and a Bishonen artstyle to attract Female viewers. And IMO, it worked! It's flawed (it gets cheesy, the lead MSes are Overpowered, Relena is blander than American Grape Nuts Cereal, the Lead MS spends most of its time getting wrecked and repaired due to the fact they're on Earth when Heero has it), but its heart is very much in the right place, and overall, it's genuinely a ton of fun. I would revisit it once I finish off TOS and watch 0080 alongside the final episodes of TOS, but unfortunately I have plans to either watch 0083 and Zeta after or alternate between SEED (which I saw the first three episodes of and bizarrely loved it more than Wing) and G. And yet, it was THIS that revolutionised Anime localisation with English scripts and releases that were as identical to the original as possible. Hmph. Well, they chose wisely. Better a good show than a shit one.

[@TheFirstVonGunther]

*Heero pours his bowl of cereal and finds out he has no milk "Well guess its time to self detonate"

[@simandabuilds9156]

Duo Maxwell is literally the only reason I watched and loved this show.

[@OnDavidsBrain]

Oh boy Gundam Wing. I only watched this show relatively recently and man oh man do I have some problems with it. Mostly the story feels incomplete, we only get backstory for 2 out of the 5 Gundam pilots namely Duo and Quatre. Speaking of the other three pilots we’ll start off with Heero, knowing that this series came right after G Gundam I was surprised at how Heero was somehow even more insane than Domon. Trowa only got some depth to him when he got amnesia and why in god’s name was Woo Fei even here?! Oh and of course whenever Relena or anyone else went on about total pacifism I could hear Mr Perfect Cell from DBZA say “so a coward who pats himself on the back. Congratulations pint-size you can stand proudly next to the bodies!” Honestly by the end of the show I was only watching for the villains because they seemed to have the more interesting story going on. Now I know a lot of my narrative problems are solved in the prequel manga that was only released in Japan and Endless Waltz but I would argue that if the story in Gundam Wing was well told then we wouldn’t NEED the prequel manga or Endless Waltz in the first place, nor would we need to recompile and retell it in “Glory of the Losers!” Oh and as for the mech designs, love the Epion Gundam, love the Tallgease and the Deathscythe Hell but god I hate the Leo with a passion! It’s ugly, I hate the smooth circular design of the shoulders, the ugly color and the head that makes it look like an American solder’s army cap. But I will acknowledge that Wing was what sold America on Gundam during the hight of Boyband popularity ( since hey, let’s face it the Operation Meteor pilots are basically a boyband with Gundams) and was part of the one two punch with G Gundam that helped give new blood for the franchise. All in all I respect Wing as a historian but can’t stand it as a show.

[@Retcon404]

It's a hard sell for sure. I realized that by the end the only character I was really rooting for was Trieze because he was actually smart and effective and his plan made the most sense.

[@OnDavidsBrain]

@@Retcon404 Yeah pretty much. Honestly the only thing that got me though this was the idea of getting background for their appearance in SRW X. Fun fact in that game Gundam Wing takes place in the same universe as Code Geass, Aura Battler Dunbine and Daitarn 3 and apparently Terize and Zechs were working with Lelouch during his whole “turn himself into Mega Satan” phase.

[@0PsychosisMedia0]

Agreed on all points but I have to add the animation was piss poor. Uneven in quality and design. To me it's unwatchable again. Would really like my hours back.. saying that Endless Waltz was much better in quality, of course bigger helps...still GW didn't need 50 episodes...10 would have explained it all and endless waltz would have wrapped it up. Yeah GW is a waste of time. Give me 0080 or 08th MS Team any day instead.

[@killerb255]

@@OnDavidsBrain Super Robot Wars X had its own plot problems--mainly with trying to squeeze many anime plots into an Isekai setting. Other Isekai anime like Magic Knight Rayearth, Knights and Magic, Escaflowne, etc. would have worked better than anything Gundam.

[@kaiserstorm886]

Honestly wufei has a solid back story, we even learn why he calls his Gundam "Nataku"

[@Ritchian]

Wing certainly seemed a heck of a lot deeper when watching it as a teenager than looking at it decades later. Still, it had some prescient observations on the use of drones in warfare well before that became a real world issue. And the series has some of my favorite mobile suit designs, so there's that.

[@Keshin4539]

I absolutely lost it at, "Least trusting Eyebrows. " Perfectly fair and fun vid. Here's to the up and up of your channel. I wish all the success!

[@seraph_dalgon_9216]

In my humble opinion, save for some minor crippling setbacks, AC is a really solid package. Made better if you add Endless Waltz and/or Glory of the Losers to it. I really love Wing, never grew up with it but I love it, all the same, even if Relena x Heero was the most unhealthy thing I'd ever seen like the man threatened to kill you, don't fall in love with him, and then they put this person in charge of a whole country?!!!

[@diamonshade7484]

Hopefully he doesn't blow it up

[@Eschrich13]

Wing (especially that killer opening) is possibly the hardest hitting nostalgia bomb for me. Despite all its flaws that I see now, few things drown me in nostalgic fervor the way Wing does.

[@evanpetelle5669]

Gundam Wing…. What a time to be alive. I built so many models.

[@grapes9h5]

Toonami Wing ads are the greatest thing ever

[@deathscthye02]

As a big Gundam Wing fan this being one of my gateways into anime. That being said even I think Wing is a bit of a dumpster fire of open plot lines and plot armor with ridiculously unexplained happenings through out the how. It starts out fine but just rapidly starts going down hill after the Siberia battle where Heero self detonates. The newish retelling in Glory to The Losers I think does a much better job of filling in those nasty holes in the story and even makes Relena more enjoyable and believable as a character. All and all if I watched this now as a first anime I doubt I'd explore further into the genre as this would likely be a mood killer for me. So yeah I'd say this a fair assessment of this series as the nostalgia factor is all it's got going for it these days, even then I go to Endless Waltz for my Wing fix.

[@Retcon404]

Definitely hyped to watch EW

[@deathscthye02]

@@Retcon404 If you don't know already there are two versions of EW the original OVA which is good, But also the newer special edition movie version which is even better with prolonged battle sequences and some other tid bits.

[@ZannacrossG1]

I feel like Wing has aged poorly compared to G and X, 00 just does most of what Wing did a lot better and having so few enemies for the Wing guys made things...repetitive. That and thinking back, Wing seems like a more stylish rehash of the UC then Seed, and I'm glad I'm not the only one who just wanted someone to punch Wufei lol. And Zechs is cool enough for those who did not watch other gundam shows, but he comes off as Speedrun Char so much I'm rather sure they even take jabs at that during things like the Super Robot Wars games and other crossover games that have both Zechs and Char lol. Still, some things are still rather cool like the good old Wing Buster rifle or Duo in general. I think Wing was a good first " Afternoon" Gundam to air over the earlier UC ones with the cool looking mech's but I just feel its aged worst then most of the others...using floppy disc's did not help to much lol.

[@ultimagaming6035]

So glad you opened this video with a blast back into my childhood. That opening and that voice that would break down the preview, dosent get any better.

[@alfonszitterbacke318]

Shoting somebody whom you already droped from a plane... the thing i remember most from this series.

[@evanerickson712]

Gundam Wing is the worst anime that I have ever seen and the worst gundam show ever. At least with Gundam Age it was made for a younger kids. The Plot of the show makes no senses ever they what to stop war and so lets send them to earth and have them kill people on earth to stop WAR great love this plan. Characters all the 5 Gundam pilot characters are the same moody and dark. They just do what they want with no plan. Hell the gundam pilots are not even aware of the each other. Relena Peacecraft is one of the worst character ever made. Everyday she is like we need to stop conflict and make peace but she does nothing or what she does she walks up to I guy and shots him and then runes away because reason and do you want to know what is even worse no one goes after her when she does it and people just clap there hands because if I shot the presents of the US then I know that I can get away with it. To sum up every thing the plot is just we need things to happen because we need to move forward and character do thing and then they are never reprimanded for there actions. The mech’s are bad and the animation is even worst. All and all i really hate this show and if people want to get into Gundam and they ask me if they should watch this show I am Saying “NO”.

[@uandresbrito5685]

Yeah the plot is stupid but you clearly didn't understand any of it lol

[@androyus]

Yes, Gundam Wing is pretty much a narrative disaster once the 5 MCs got tricked by OZ and lost their initial goals. Relena's Sanc Kingdom & its total pacifism philosophy is complete garbage and pretty much every character just do random things until Zechs decided to blow up Earth for no logical reason and everybody tried to stop him. Wing's story made SEED Destiny looks like The Godfather.

[@NaldzHobbySide]

Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz is a Chefs kiss 👌👌

[@bryanewyatt]

Oh gosh I freaking LOVE that you included the Armored Core 3 soundtrack! Also: Tallgeese is the greatest MS in all of Gundam. Period.

[@ninjabreadman8166]

Wing was messy, but fun. Thank you for the video, and thank you for using music from the Toonami Black Hole Megamix!

[@kevinlockhart4393]

If anyone is looking to rewatch this, as of today, the GundamInfo KZbin channel just uploaded the whole thing for free!

[@unrealdrakon]

Wing is still by far my favorite gundam series and anime

[@BradLad56]

Wing was so epic it had Optimus Prime as it's trailer narrator lol

[@Thex-W.I.T.C.H.-xMaster]

I don't know about anyone else here, but I grew up on Gundam Wing. This is one of my favorite animes of all time. I was introduced to the world of Gundams with Gundam Wing as a kid.

[@jonathanray4510]

This show on toonami back in early 2000s was beyond peak, being a kid watching this and having the talghese toy from toys r us.. What a time to be a kid!

[@DrSnipe83]

That I'll kill you line is all I remember. I think he also said it in Battle Assault when he did his super.

[@Aidan_Au]

Finally.....! This is video I have always wanted since I first found your channel. Thank you for making this video!